Why Batman Is The Best Superhero

Marvel's Morbius is getting his movie very soon starring Jared Leto. We've already seen the trailer, and one particular scene – where bats surround Morbius – resembles a scene from another superhero movie – DC's Batman Begins, where a young Bruce Wayne gets surrounded by bats similarly. That got me thinking – if Morbius and Batman ever fought, who would win?

Morbius would win in a random one-on-one encounter, as he could use his superhuman, pseudo-vampiric powers uninterruptedly, giving him the upper hand over Batman, who, albeit strong and skilled, is still just human. But, with prep time and planning, Batman defeats anybody, including Morbius.

Batman is a genius billionaire with access to the highest technology available and an expert in over a hundred martial arts. He defeated Superman after studying his weaknesses and planning their encounter, so if that were the case with Morbius, he'd probably beat him with ease. Let's compare their powers to see who has the advantage where.

Morbius and His Powers

Morbius, the Living Vampire, is a Marvel Comics character, first appearing in The Amazing Spider-Man #101 in 1971. Roy Thomas and Gil Kane made the character somewhat of an antihero instead of a clear-cut supervillain.

Morbius Vs. Batman: Who Would Win and Why?

Michael Morbius was only human but with a rare blood disease. He became a Nobel prize-winning biochemist, trying to find a cure for his condition, but the experimental treatment backfired and turned him into a pseudo-vampire. Morbius has almost all the traits of a real vampire, but he isn't undead – hence, the nickname Living Vampire.

Michael hates his newfound condition despite gaining many incredible superpowers, along with being cured of his disease. His bloodlust is sometimes unbearable, and he can't help himself but kill and drink blood. He does his best to use his powers to do good, but killing people to drink their blood kind of makes it impossible. Let's see what his powers and abilities are.

Pseudo-vampirism

As I mentioned, Morbius is a pseudo-vampire instead of a real one. His origins aren't religious but rather scientific, so even though he has many traits of a real vampire, he's still a living being. That means Michael doesn't have the common vampiric weaknesses such as garlic, wood, silver, or religious symbols like crucifixes.

He does, however, have fangs, claws, a horrific appearance, and an insatiable bloodthirst that turns him into a killing machine. The hunger is his biggest weakness, and it produces another weakness, which is his poor mental state – contemplating suicide numerous times or simply going berserk and losing his sense of self due to hunger.

As for his pseudo-vampiric physiology, Morbius healed from the blood disease he had before. Instead of being a fragile human that breaks a finger when lifting a coffee mug, Morbius gained superhuman strength and speed, stamina, and durability.

Michael's strength level is above peak human strength, growing stronger or weaker depending on how well fed he is or how angry he gets. Morbius' speed is incredible – over ten times faster than peak human speed, seemingly teleporting at times. Also, Michael has a strong healing factor, but we'll get to that in a bit.

The Living Vampire needs no sleep or regular human food to survive, making him that much more dangerous. Additionally, he can turn others into pseudo-vampires if he wishes to, although he rarely does that.

Mesmerism

When Morbius and his enemies lock eye contact, he can mezmerize and hypnotize them, compelling them to do whatever he wants them to do. That's where Batman would probably perish in a random encounter, even if he manages to fight off Morbius' initial quick attack.

Some stronger characters had shown the ability to resist such mental attacks. Still, Batman is only human, meaning he would likely succumb to the hypnotic powers regardless of his willpower or mental toughness. The only way he could bypass it is to avoid eye contact at all costs, but that would make him vulnerable to other Morbius' attacks and abilities.

Healing Factor

Just like real vampires, Morbius can heal from most wounds and injuries. He survived being shot through the heart from point-blank range, and his healing gets faster and stronger when he feeds on blood.

That being said, it's still not as powerful as, for instance, Wolverine's healing factor. Morbius can't regrow lost limbs or organs, making him mortal from injuries such as decapitation. However, Morbius stated that he doesn't age, so he can't die from natural causes, making him somewhat immortal.

Flight/Gliding

The treatment made Morbius' bones hollow, allowing him to fly to an extent. It's not exactly light, but rather gliding through the air over shorter distances, and he can do it at very high speeds through pure mental concentration.

Brilliant Intellect

Morbius lacks the fighting skills that Batman has, as he was on crutches most of his life; hence, he couldn't train in martial arts and other fighting systems. However, he makes up for it with his brilliant mind.

As mentioned before, Morbius was a scientist, winning a Nobel prize in biochemistry. Michael spent most of his life indoors, reading books, and studying, making him extremely smart, developing his intellect from a very young age.

RELATED: Morbius Vs. Spider-Man: Who Would Win and Why?

Batman and His Powers

Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, is a genius billionaire/vigilante fighting the underworld of crime in Gotham City. His first appearance came in Detective Comics #27 in 1939, created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger.

When he was a child, Wayne witnessed the murder of his parents, making him swear to avenge them and bring justice to the city. His understanding of justice isn't always clear, but he does his best not to kill but rather incarcerate his foes. That being said, he's still just human, making him quite different from other superheroes we're used to seeing.

Peak Physical and Mental State

Although he is just human, Bruce Wayne is at the top of humanly possible physical condition. He trains intensively with the help of the highest possible technology, and he has been seen to bench-press 1000 lbs. Batman is as strong as a human being can possibly get, but it doesn't stop there.

As much as Bruce trained his body, he also trained his mind, getting him into a peak mental state. He rarely loses his focus and has cognitive capabilities unlike anybody else. He uses his brains to defeat enemies ten times more powerful than himself, but the most crucial part about his mental state is never allowing his emotions to get the best of him.

Genius-level Intellect

Wayne is extremely brilliant – that is, one of the most intelligent persons on the planet. He speaks numerous languages, has an eidetic memory, and possesses incredible willpower. He is also an expert detective, with even the slightest clue giving him enough insight to understand the situation and react in the best possible way.

He usually uses his brilliance in two ways. One is developing spectacular gadgets and high-tech equipment in his Bat Cave to use in battle. Two, planning, strategizing, and improvising in battle, making him defeat even the most powerful superheroes and supervillains, including Superman.

Masterful Martial Arts and Combat Skills

After the demise of his parents, Wayne trained intensively all over the world to perfect himself physically, mentally, and skill-wise. He mastered over a hundred martial arts, fighting styles, and systems, including weapon training.

Even going up against a large group of enemies, Bruce regularly comes out on top due to his spectacular skills and brilliant intellect that gets him out of almost any situation. He has succumbed and lost a few battles in his lifetime, but Batman always finds a way to defeat his foes.

Bruce Wayne Identity

Finally, one of the best abilities that Batman has is hiding his true identity. Only a handful of people know that Batman is indeed Bruce Wayne, one of the wealthiest philanthropists in Gotham City.

Hiding his identity allows him to operate under the radar while using his extreme wealth and resources to his advantage. That's why he always fares better with prep time and planning – he can catch his enemies off guard instead of allowing them to catch him in the same position.

Keep in mind, he's only human, so if you can catch him when he's not ready, Wayne would be in trouble. That's why he does his best to avoid such scenarios and always stay prepared and vigilant.

Morbius Vs. Batman: Who Would Win and Why?

Now that we know what the main differences are between the powers and abilities of Morbius and Batman, it's easy to answer who would win in a fight between them and why.

Suppose we're talking about a random street encounter, then our pseudo-vampire will be feasting on some Batman blood. As strong as skillful Bruce Wayne might be – he is still just a human being. If Morbius can catch him off-guard or unprepared, it's game over.

The Living Vampire can use his superhuman speed, strength, or hypnotic abilities to incapacitate Batman in a second. And, even if Batman manages to retaliate and hurt Morbius, he can push through due to his healing factor and simply heal as he drinks Wayne's blood.

However, if Batman knows that a battle is brewing and that he and Morbius are crossing paths, he would likely win, just like he does against anybody else. He's a brilliant tactician and strategist, so he would easily incapacitate Morbius if he had time to prepare and plan their encounter.

You see, the Living Vampire has weaknesses, such as hunger, sunlight exposure (although it doesn't kill him, it hurts him quite a bit), and his poor mental state. Also, if he loses limbs or organs, he can't heal them back into existence.

It would be enough for Bruce to use his technology to trap Morbius and let his hunger do the dirty work – they don't even have to fight openly. And, if it comes to a fight, and Batman is prepared for it, he would win yet again because he is a much more skillful martial artist and combatant.

To sum it up, if Morbius and Batman have a random encounter on the streets, then the Living Vampire would likely be able to use his superior powers to defeat Batman. But, if there's prep time and strategizing, then Batman's skill trumps Morbius' power every time.